Factors influencing body composition in persons with spinal cord injury: a cross-sectional study.

To determine the body composition differences across age, 133 men with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) (66 with tetraplegia, 67 with paraplegia) were compared with an age-, height-, and ethnicity-matched able-bodied male reference population (n = 100) using two different dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry densitometers. The effects of duration of injury, level, and completeness of lesion were analyzed in the SCI population. Independent of age, total body and regional lean mass were lower and fat mass was higher in persons with SCI compared with controls.

Smoking and obstructive lung dysfunction in persons with chronic spinal cord injury.

Background: Persons with higher-level spinal cord injury (SCI) have reduced vital capacity and increased risk of respiratory symptoms and illness, with smokers experiencing excess vital capacity losses. To date, obstructive lung dysfunction, the most prominent effect of smoking in the able-bodied population, has not been characterized in persons with SCI.

Objective: To determine whether smokers and/or nonsmokers with SCI are at increased risk to develop obstructive lung dysfunction, as measured by the ratio of forced expired volume in 1 second to forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC).

A view of the future Model Spinal Cord Injury System through the prism of past achievements and current challenges.

Objective: To examine the contributions of the Model Spinal Cord Injury System (MSCIS) program to the evaluation and care of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and to acknowledge today's challenges to chart the future course of the MSCIS.

Methods: Retrospective review of the literature and prospective development of consensus by task force members and consultants. Integration of recent reported findings from panel presentations and publications regarding the MSCIS 2000 through 2005.

Spinal cord injuries from gunshot wounds to the spine.

Although vehicular trauma traditionally has accounted for the majority of spinal cord injuries, gunshot wounds are the second most common cause. Furthermore, the proportion of spinal cord injuries caused by gunshot wounds are increasing although the proportion of injuries caused by high-speed vehicular trauma is decreasing. Gunshot wounds to the spine commonly are thought to be stable injuries.

Prevalence of hepatitis C infection in a large urban hospital-based sample of individuals with spinal cord injury.

Objective: To examine the prevalence and clinical characteristics of hepatitis C infection in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI).

Design: Retrospective case survey.

Setting: Outpatient clinic devoted to SCI follow-up care located in a county-government rehabilitation center.

Incidence and clinical correlates of increased serum creatine kinase levels in persons with spinal cord injury.

Background: Elevated plasma levels of creatine kinase (CPK) are found in various neuromuscular conditions as a result of muscle damage and necrosis. Elevated CPK has also been described in elite wheelchair athletes and in able-bodied individuals after strenuous exercise.

Methods: The incidence of elevated CPK in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) has not been well established.

Reflex sympathetic dystrophy in brain-injured patients.

One-hundred consecutive patients were prospectively evaluated on admission to our Brain Injury Unit for signs and symptoms of reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) in the upper extremity. Patients averaged 4 months postinjury and had an average age of 29 years. Thirteen patients had clinical signs and symptoms of RSD and were then evaluated with standard radiographs and 3-phase radionuclide scintigraphy.